Get to know: Moscoman is the Israeli producer making transfixing electronica

Moscoman is quick to refute the idea that Israel is all about psy-trance. “Not Tel Aviv,” he states emphatically. “I used to DJ four times a week in Tel Aviv, including the main dance venue, The Block, and it’s all about techno, German techno and our style.”

By “our style”, he means the tuneful, pulsing electronica he and his label Disco Halal have been firing out over the last two years, including one of 2016’s most acclaimed albums, ‘Can You Pass the Knife?’ by his friend Nadav Spiegel (aka Autarkic), and his own new album ‘A Shot in the Light’. His sound is contemporary yet owes a debt to the melodic poppiness of retro synth-pop and cold-wave. The latter aspect may be why Disco Halal is reissuing an obscure 80s electro-pop album by Swedish singer-model Virna Lindt.

Born Chen Moscovici (pronounced ‘Hen Moscovitsch’), he spent most of his life in Tel Aviv and released on labels such as Eskimo, ESP Institute and Correspondant, but when he moved to Berlin a couple of years ago things really came into their own. “It was a great place to step back and overlook my whole life,” he explains. “I didn’t have time before to sit down and think where I was going. Now I see the wider picture.”